"Major Milestone"

To say that today was a BIG day in the life of Dwell by Cheryl Interiors would be a gross understatement, but I’ll say it anyway.  Today was a BIG day! 

When I began this journey nearly four and a half years ago, I never really imagined that it could become what it has so quickly.  I got a glimpse however, after being contacted several years ago by a magazine that was interested in featuring my master bedroom in an upcoming issue.  Imagine my excitement.  I told almost everyone I knew.  I submitted the photos and answered a few questions and waited patiently…..until the magazine was released and..... I wasn’t included in it.  You can read about my devastation HERE.   You know, they say hindsight is 20/20 and they’re right.  Now I know that the disappointment I experienced was just a prelude to what was to come. 

 

 

Today I walked in a Books a Million, made a bee line for the magazines and found an issue of Southern Home that featured my home in it!  I still have to pinch myself to believe it. My home is included with the work of design greats like Jan Showers.  Seriously? 

 

 

I’ve been dying to tell you guys all about it, ever since late April when the photographer showed up at my house.  Yeah, remember that whole 4-week master bedroom project? It was for this!  (Funny enough it's the one space that wasn't included. Go figure!)

 

 

Needless to say, I may have staged a photo shoot in the magazine section at the store.

 

Yeah, you can say I was a bit excited.  Thankfully a stranger came along and agreed to take photos for me.  As luck God would have it, she actually needed a home stager to help sell her home and asked for my card and has already connected with me.  An impromptu photographer and a potential client? Seriously?! 

The article is entitled Opulence in Reach and I couldn't have written it better myself. There's a six page spread and I have to admit, it's surreal reading about yourself in a shelter magazine and seeing each and every thrifted find you've acquired highlighted in the BEST light.  I still can't believe it.  I've literally been carrying about an issue for a week and a half now. 

 

This is a major milestone in the life of my business and I can't even imagine what else God has in store but I'm pretty sure the best is yet to come....

 

 

 

 

If you're interested in having your own copy, check out Mag Finder for locations near you. Just search for HOFFMAN GEN INT #3 SIP (Warning: It's $14.99, so you need to really like me. ; )

Easy Fall Decorating

 

I'll be honest, I'm not a big fall decorator.  I just usually don't have the time or energy to invest in it.  It's usually all I can do to pull up the spent garden, empty the annuals from the flower pots and clean things up for winter; not to mention the leaves.  However, this year, something is different. 

 

 It all started when I purchased this burlap pumpkin at the Habitat ReStore in Statesville on our recent blogger field trip (You can read more about that HERE).

 

 

I guess it somehow put me the mood.  Then, I stumbled upon these amazing down filled Hickory Chair plaid Euro pillows for $10 each. 

 

 

 I actually bought them for the inserts and then started to like the plaid.  I decided to play around with them and....lo and behold they looked pretty great on my sofa.

 

 

And that's how it all started.  The next thing I knew, I was in full fledged fall decorating mode - purchasing pumpkins and pulling out throws and pine cones.  I'm sure the unseasonably cool temps this weekend also helped, but I have to say, it wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be. 

 

 

 When you decorate for a living, you amass an unbelievable amount of "extra" décor.  It's kind of nice having the ability to completely change things up without spending any money.  So here's what I did:

1.) I changed out the sofa pillows.  I removed the pink and green and utilized a more neutral scheme to cozy things up.  I also replaced the pink stripe basket with a natural one.  (No worries, the pink will return for the holidays.)

2.) I added this amazing pom-pom throw that I picked up at my friend Jennifer of Pure and Simple Organizing's recent estate sale.  Throws are perfect for lounging around and I have tons of them.

I mean, what's autumn without pumpkins?  I intended to get white ones, but the place I stopped in yesterday only had orange.  Never fear...spray paint to the rescue!  I may like the gold better anyway.

3.) Pumpkins and/or gourds are a MUST this time of year.

 

TIP:  You may be picking up on the fact that none of my fall décor is holiday specific.  I try not to decorate for Halloween or Thanksgiving because I find holiday specific décor for this season to be extremely limiting.  I figure if I'm going to put in the effort to decorate for fall, I want to enjoy it for as long as possible.  By selecting décor that merely references the season, I can enjoy them from now until I ready to decorate for Christmas.

 

4.)  I replaced the pink vase that usually occupies this space with a vintage pitcher filled with pheasant feathers.  Don't have any feathers?  Pretty much anything natural will work (i.e. willow, dried branches, etc.) The idea is to give a nod to the changing season by bringing the outdoors in.

 

 

I love fresh flowers and I typically purchase them each week.  However, this time of year the variety starts to dwindle and the prices begin to rise. 

 

5. ) I switched out my fresh blooms for small potted plants.  I love how they look in my thrifted brass urns.

6.) Hiding in my garage were these amber bottles. I switched out the glass bottles and fishing net weights for these more season appropriate options.

7.) The étagère got a little taste of fall with this burnt orange wreath.  I sort of felt obligated to at least add a little orange.  It's not my favorite color. 

 

Again, I added a wreath to the china cabinet as well.  Wreaths are a super easy way to decorate for the season with minimal effort.

 



The addition of another potted plant and a cozy cable knit pillow make this the perfect spot for my morning coffee.

So, there you have it!  It's actually pretty amazing how different te space feels with these small changes.  Do you decorate for fall?

One Day Design

This weekend I had the pleasure of working with a client on a One Day Design service. You can find more info about this design service offering HERE, but basically it allows clients to utilize my expertise for several hours any way they see fit.  This particular client had already filled her home with quite lovely furnishings and décor but had trouble committing to some items needed to finish things off. 

For starters the living room needed new accent colors.  The bold turquoise was a bit much for the space.  We hit the road shopping and scored some great pillows to provide a direct for the client to move in going forward. 

 

I love the addition of the animal print.  (Note: Keep in mind, this project is done in only one day so it's not about dramatic before and after photos and glossy staged photos.)  

 

We moved the trellis pillows to the two chairs adjacent the sofa.  We also moved the end table to one side of the sofa to create some balance and added matching lamps to both (sorry no picture of this).  

 

I think they'll need to add a couple of pieces of art work above these two chairs. Preferably they'll include the colors in the accent pillows we added. 

The next space we needed to address was the formal living room.  Already a stunner, the client just need a few additional items to tie things together 

We brought the blue over the sofa with the addition of these paisley pillows.

We also made the seating area opposite the sofa a little more cozy with the addition of a round accent table and throw pillows.

 



 

Originally, this bar tray was housed in the kitchen area, but that didn't seem to be the best function space for a beverage station given you already store beverage essentials in the kitchen.  So, we moved it to the formal living room and I think it's the perfect spot for offering you guest an adult beverage.   

 

A few well placed accessories and this room was all done!

 

The morning room was already home to a beautiful farmhouse table, upholstered chairs and a bench, so we just needed a not so fussy centerpiece.  The client really wanted to add in a little navy, so these Greek Key jars were perfect!

 

 

 

Also off the kitchen was this blank wall that was screaming for a narrow console.  Unfortunately, we didn't find the perfect piece, but we did buy these cool arrows.  They'll look awesome above a place to drop keys and such as the clients enter through their garage. 

 

 

 

One of the client's favorite finds of the day were these two faux antique corbels.  We used them to flank the large windows in the morning room behind the dining table.  They're still on the hunt for the perfect ceramic pieces to display, but they'll look fab when they find them.

 

 

Lastly, we needed to address the dining room.  This one was a bit tricky because the direction of the accessories hinges almost solely on the choice of art for that back wall. 

 

Art is so personal that I didn't want to push too hard in that area, so we settled with this sunburst mirror to replace the small white plaques above the buffet whose scale was all wrong.

 

After those wholes are spackled and the large bowl is filled with a new terrarium, this will look great too!  I'm loving the mixed metals. 





 

All in all, it was a great experience even though there was a lot to accomplish in just a few hours.  I think we did pretty well. 

Client Project: Traditional Living

It's officially getting crazy around here.  School is back in session, my current client project is in full swing and of course there's the day job.  I thought I'd pop in and share my latest project with you guys. 

It's a young family that reach out to me about a year ago, looking to spruce up their main living space.  The home is fairly new but could use a healthy dose of their personal style to make it feel more like home. After meeting with the client, I got to work on a design plan for the space. 

We decided to go with a traditional scheme with rich red and navy accents.  The client fell in love with the idea of serene blue walls and we're currently trying out a few options.  She also has her heart set on replacing here existing recliner with a new more streamlined one.  That's a tall order, but I think I may be up for the challenge. 

Needless to say, we've strayed a bit from the original plan, opting to eliminate the area rug and invest more in furniture pieces.  I've also found an awesome cream and navy print fabric that we'll be using to make pinched pleated drapery for the space.

I think it will add a little more interest than the navy ones pictured on the plan.  Plus, who can resist a pinched pleat?

It won't be long now and that makes me very excited!

I'm also all set to work on a One Day Design project this weekend.  This client just needs some help pulling things together.  She's got loads of style but seems to be a bit stuck with her current pieces and the overwhelming amount of options out there.  Dwell by Cheryl to the rescue!!!! Tune in on social media this weekend, as I'm sure I'll be sharing the process throughout the day.

Until next time...